Bears Destroy Mock Campsite, Lone Cooler Survives

Few outdoorsmen and women would ever be naive enough to doubt the capabilities of an adult grizzly, but there's still a formidable gap between imagining what the bears can do and actually seeing it. The folks at ZooMontana decided that the world at large could use a refresher on just how much damage a hungry bear might do, and figured there was only one way to really get the message across: Let a couple of grizzlies go to town on a mock campsite.

According to The Billings Gazette, ZooMontana sic a pair of its grizzly bears—Bruno and Ozzy, respectively—on a faux campsite that the staff had put together. A tent, sleeping bags, a garbage can, some chairs and a collection of coolers—about what you'd expect at your average American campsite—were mocked up and sealed in an enclosure with the duo. Bear kibble, fruit and peanut butter (the latter two of which, again, would be found in just about any real campsite) were placed inside the food containers as incentive, and the big grizzlies wasted no time in getting to work.

Through a combination of brute force and a little persistence, the bears tore the example site to shreds in short order. Only one piece of gear survived the assault: Cabela's Alaskan Guide Cooler by Grizzly Coolers. The heavy-duty unit is built to withstand the worst, and it showed. The cooler's double-wall construction was challenged by each bear, in turn. It was a little worse for the wear by the time each grizzly had given up, but it didn't open or break. That's durability.